When All The Snow Had Melted
by Ao to Bin to Kan
Summary: Fuji is in charge of the New Year's party for the regulars. But knowing Fuji, things would probably not go as expected...
1. Announcements

Author's Notes: This is the first time the three of us are writing together. So please be kind enough to leave some comments. Hope you would enjoy reading this!

Disclaimer: Tenipuri does not belong to us. Tennis no Oujisama belongs to Konomi-san who has the excellent idea of creating it.

--- --- ---

**When All The Snow Had Melted**

Chapter One - Announcements

This was exactly what Tezuka Kunimitsu thought of a perfect day.

Peace and quiet.

Until.

He felt a pair of slim arms reached out and twine around his neck.

He closed his eyes.

"Fuji."

"Saa. How do you know it is me?"

"People are staring."

"Let them stare as much as they want."

"Fuji."

"...ne?"

"What do you want?"

Fuji Syusuke chuckled.

"A small favor."

Tezuka stiffened. He tried to pry Fuji's arms from his neck. However, the tensai's grip was harder than he thought. Or perhaps, he was too gentle to pull away roughly.

"Trying to escape, buchou? Daijou. It's a really _small_ favor," Fuji whispered.

Unable to move, Tezuka had no choice but to listen.

But knowing Fuji, that favor would probably be not as small as he said.

--- --- ---

"Dismissed."

"Hai."

"Regulars, please stay back at the locker room for a short meeting."

"I wonder what's the meeting about," remarked Echizen as he changed into his uniform, "Momo-sempai, any ideas?"

"Hmm...maybe he wants to give us a treat?" Momoshiro said with sparkles in his eyes. Images of his favourite food flow through his minds in bubbles.

"Fsshhh...baka Momo."

The bubbles burst.

"Who are you calling baka, baka Mamushi?!"

"Fsshhh..."

Before either can jump on the other, they were both pulled back by the Golden Pair who had just walked in.

"Nya Momo. Buchou's on his way, so you better not fight," Eiji said, restraining the struggling Momo.

"You too, Kaidoh," Oishi said, trying his best to hold on to Kaidoh.

"Iie data. I wonder how long can both of them stay apart."

Inui suddenly appeared with a sadistic glint in his eyes. Or could it be his spectacles?

In his hands was his trusty notebook.

Who knows what he really wrote in there.

The four of them shuddered at that thought. No one really wanted to know.

Momo glared at Kaidoh, who glared back, and calmed down.

Oishi and Eiji both looked genuinely relieved.

However, peace was short.

"BURNING!! NO ONE GETS IN MY WAY!! GREAT-O!!"

Taken by surprise, Inui fell and dropped his precious notebook...

...which fell into the hands of a certain tensai.

"Saa. What's this?" Fuji flipped through the pages, looking amused.

"Tsk tsk. I never knew you were this _thorough_, Inui. You even have Kaidoh's boxer sizes."

At this remark, Kaidoh turned tomato red.

"I-Inui-se-sempai..."

"Don't believe him, Kaidoh," Inui said, flailing his hands frantically.

"Ne Inui. You have too much information about Kaidoh for your own good. This is certainly not healthy," Fuji smirked, and added, "Definitely not for delicate ears such as yours, Echizen."

Their innocent first-year had an eyebrow arched.

"Oh well. Best to let Kaidoh know who's his mysterious stalker," Fuji walked over to Kaidoh, and placed the book in his hands.

"I'll leave this in your care then."

"My precious data..." Inui walked over to the blushing second-year.

"I-Inui-se-sempai...how did you get all my measurements?"

While Inui struggled to give a satisfactory answer, everyone else started talking.

No one heard a certain someone's footsteps.

Tezuka Kunimitsu sighed. This was going to take very long.

"Everyone run ten laps. NOW!"

In an instant, the locker room was empty again.

Peace was restored.

--- --- ---

After a few minutes, everyone was back, panting.

And definitely much more subdued.

Tezuka cleared his throat.

"I have an announcement to make. We will be having a New Year party on the first of January."

Silence.

No one knew how to react.

"As Fuji has been the one who had kindly made the arrangements, he will give more details about it."

Fuji smiled happily, as everyone's attention was diverted to him.

"I have made individual invitation cards for everyone," Fuji handed out a couple of envelopes and continued, "There are names written on the envelope, so please do not take someone else's. The party will be held at my house, as my parents and nee-san will be overseas. The rest of the details are in the card."

On the card was simply:

"The venue of the New Year party is at Fuji Syusuke's house. Arrive promptly at 2pm. Food and drinks will be provided by the host." Everyone gulped nervously. "Please bring a gift as there would be a gift exchange. Decline all other invitations without hesitation."

"Important: Please remember to bring extra clothings."

Everyone looked puzzled over the last sentence.

But that was not all.

At the bottom of each card was a personal handwritten message.

"Please arrive at the noted time, and not at any time earlier." Oishi wondered what it meant.

"Do not bring any extra baggage such as a certain bear plushie." "Is it refering to higuma, Oishi-chan?" Eiji thought of his one-metre bear, sitting at the foot of his bed.

"Enough food will be provided. Do come with an empty stomach." Momo was licking his lips, until he remembered it was _Fuji's_ house he was going. His tongue stopped mid-air.

"No tennis rackets are allowed." "Mada mada dane," thought Echizen, who merely shrugged.

"Do not bring pets." Kaidoh's wishful thinking was dashed.

"Enough drinks will be provided. Spills and accidents are best avoided." Inui's spectacles dropped just one centimetre.

"Be yourself." Kawamura looked very confused.

However, Tezuka had a particularly long and interesting message.

"You are to come at 7 in the morning to help me prepare. Should you be late or not turn up at all, punishment will be issued the following night." Tezuka twitched visibly. "It's with your interests at heart that I advise you to be early. Rewards come earlier than punishments."

Seeing the mixed reactions in his teammates, Fuji's smile grew wider. He could easily visualise the results of his perfect plans.

"Any questions?"

Everyone looked reasonably normal.

Tezuka cleared his throat again.

"Dismissed."

"Nya Ochibi!" Eiji hugged the short boy from the back, "Is anything written at the bottom of your card?"

"...nothing."

"Sou...what about you Momo?"

"...nothing at all..."

Upon Eiji's accusatory look, he immediately added, "Really."

Eiji decided to let it pass. Maybe his was an exception.

"Nya. Let's go for burgers, Momo, Echizen."

"Only if you treat, Eiji-sempai."

"I treated just the other day. Shouldn't you be treating me today? Eating off your sempai again eh, Momo?"

They left the locker room noisily, dragging Echizen along.

"May I have my notebook back?"

"Fsshhh...anything. I don't care," Kaidoh handed back the notebook.

"Don't worry. I'm not stalking you or anything," Inui tried to placate the second-year.

That only earned him a disbelieving look.

"Ja." Kaidoh walked out of the locker room with Inui following behind, begging to be heard and believed.

"Bye." Kawamura left alone.

There were only Oishi, Tezuka and Fuji left.

"Can you lock up the room when you leave? I'm in a hurry..." Oishi approached Tezuka with the keys, "Arigato. See you, Tezuka and Fuji."

With that, Oishi left as well.

"Well, well. I told you it was a good idea," Fuji said.

"..."

"What do you think?"

"It's...okay."

"Did you like my message to you?"

"..."

"Silence means consent. I take it that you liked it then."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Do you have anything to say to me, Tezuka?"

"..."

"I just _kissed_ you."

"...I need to go now."

"Is that all?"

"Hai. Ja ne."

Oh well, it clearly shows that it takes more than a kiss to soften a stoic captain.

--- --- ---

Eneko: Hey minna! Hopefully, everyone had enjoyed this chapter and would continue reading on. Next chapter will be done by ForbiddenLover. Anyway, thanks to everyone who had taken time off to read this!


	2. Preparations

Author's Notes : Now, on to the fic!!!

--- --- ---

**When All The Snow Had Melted**

Chapter 2 - Preparations

It was the day of the party.

Tezuka paced up and down Fuji's front door, wondering if he should press the doorbell.

He sighed. After that little _incident_ in the locker room, he ought to be more careful when he's around with the tensai.

He looked at his watch.

It read "7.05".

Which meant that he had already been pacing for nearly 10 minutes.

"I don't think anything bad will happen...right?" he tried to reassured himself before pressing the bell.

The door opened at the first ring. Somehow, it made him wonder if Fuji had been waiting all along at the door.

"Ohayo Tezuka!"

Tezuka's eyes narrowed.

"Saeki. Where's Fuji?"

"Syusuke?" Looking at Tezuka's stern expression, Saeki could not help but tease the poker-faced captain.

"Daijou. I didn't eat up your _wife_. He's…"

At that moment, a voice came from behind Saeki.

"Who's there, Kojiroh? Is it Tezuka?"

Fuji appeared behind Saeki.

"Maa Tezuka, you're late. Never mind. You'll get your punishment later. Come in and make yourself at home," Fuji invited.

But Tezuka's attention was on something else.

Saeki had snaked his arm around Fuji's waist.

Tezuka's eye twitched.

Mistaking Tezuka's embarassment as uncertainty, Fuji added, "Kojiroh is here to help with the preparations. I didn't think we could finish it by ourselves. Yuuta will be coming over later to help out."

Trying to break the ice between Tezuka and him, Saeki said with a smile, "Say, Tezuka, did you know that Syusuke is so talented? His skills are superb. Heavenly. I have been trying it out since last night. Well, since he's your wife, I assume that you have tried it before. Don't you think it's fantastic?"

They walked towards the living room, with Saeki's arms still around Fuji.

Tezuka's eyes twitched. Trying not to face–fault.

"Kojiroh dear, stop flattering me. I'm getting embarrassed."

"…"

Tezuka sweatdropped.

Dirty thoughts ran through his head, but got dismissed the next second.

"Anyway, I don't think Tezuka have tried it before. Have you, Tezuka? I don't really remember," Fuji said, turning his attention towards Tezuka with a meaningful look on his face.

Clearing his throat, Tezuka said, "Iie, I'm afraid I have not."

"What a pity. You should try it. It's perfect."

Saeki had a look of longing.

"Sasuga Syusuke. Why not let's all do it now," suggested Saeki.

"Nani? I'll pass. You two have fun," said Tezuka, getting a little jealous.

"Are you not tired, Kojiroh? We hardly slept last night because of your desire."

"Iie, I'm fine. Let's get started," Saeki said with a mischievous smirk, as he led Fuji towards the kitchen.

"What? Are you two going do it there?!" asked Tezuka, shocked.

"Well...where else would you bake a cake?" said Saeki, matter-of-factly, suppressing a chuckle.

Obviously, dirty thoughts have been passing through the Tezuka's head.

Tezuka's face turned pink for just a split second.

"Saa. Tezuka, what were you thinking of?" Fuji challenged.

His sharp eyes did not miss the blush.

"…"

Tezuka gave no reply. Although he gave a mental sigh of relief that they had not done anything…inappropriate.

"Since you don't want to join us in our _fun_, why don't you start decorating the room?" said Fuji with a devious smile as he shoved a humongous box of decorations into Tezuka's arms.

"Kojiroh and I will take care of the food, while you do the decorations. How does that sound?" Fuji asked.

"Fine with me."

Tezuka was very relieved.

"Syusuke, how lucky of you to have a husband who allows you to boss him around."

Tezuka glared at Saeki.

Unfortunately, Fuji too gave a glare as terrifying as Tezuka's.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Kojiroh _dear_. Tezuka is _my_ wife."

Saeki shivered.

"Um…I think we should get started."

Fuji chuckled.

This is going to be fun.

--- --- ---

Tezuka went through the box he was given.

The first thing he saw were streamers.

"Hm…good thing that I'm tall. I wouldn't need a chair then."

The second thing he saw were balloons.

"Well. Blowing balloons will be good training for my stamina. Maybe I should time myself and see how many I can blow in a minute."

The next thing was a Piñata.

"What the hell is it dong here? Never mind. Good training for the arm later on."

And the list went on…until.

Mistletoes.

"Now. What is **this** doing here? I'll have to remember to ask Fuji later."

With that, Tezuka started with the decorations.

Streamers hung neatly around the house.

Piñata in the middle of the living room.

Every thing seemed so neat and tidy.

Like it had all been done with precise planning.

--- --- ---

Meanwhile, in the kitchen…

"No Syusuke, I'll add the spices. You'll measure the amount of flour and water to put in."

"But you did that yesterday. Just to be fair, let's switch roles instead."

"Iie. I insist that I add the spices."

"Oh well, if you insist." Fuji shrugged.

--- --- ---

Back to the living room…

Tezuka was having a "balloon blowing competition" with himself.

"Hm…6 balloons in a minute. Let's try 7 in a minute. Let's not get careless now. Concentrate, Kunimitsu."

--- --- ---

Some time passed…

In the kitchen…

"Kojiroh, if there's nothing else, I'll go help Tezuka with the decoration."

"Alright. I only have to put the last batch into the oven and I'm done."

Fuji walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.

A stern-looking Tezuka was blowing the balloons while looking at his watch at the same time.

"Just one more to break the record…" thought Tezuka.

"Saa. Tezuka, what are you doing?"

Upon hearing an alien voice above his thoughts, his hand slipped and the balloon he was blowing flew out of his fingers.

The deflating ballon flew around the room in an absurd manner.

"Well. I'm blowing the balloons," was the stoic reply.

"What else do I look like I'm doing," he thought, puzzled.

"Er…but, why are you looking at your watch? Are you in a hurry to get to somewhere?"

"Iie," replied Tezuka, hoping that he did not look or sound too irritated, unaware that he _never_ had to worry about that.

"Do you need my help?"

"Betsuni. Demo…could you tell me what is this for?" asked Tezuka, as he lifted a mistletoe.

"That?" Fuji asked with a silky voice, his permanent smile turning into a grin.

"That's going to be part of the decoration. Daijou. I'll take care of that," Fuji said, as he reached out to gather all the mistletoe, thinking of all the strategic places to hang it.

Tezuka merely shook his head.

"Fuji can be so...unpredictable at times..." he thought.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"That must be Yuuta," Fuji dropped the mistletoe in his hand, and ran to open the door.

"Yuuta!" Fuji hugged the younger Fuji tightly, "Glad that you came. Come on in."

"Aniki…" Yuuta turned tomato red, "Stop it. It's embarrassing."

Fuji grabbed his brother into the house, and slammed the door.

"Aniki...I brought a friend."

Fuji opened the door again.

"Where is your friend? I don't see anyone out here."

"It's in front of you..."

"You mean this?" Fuji asked, eyes opened slightly at the sight of Mizuki.

"How many times have I told you not to bring any _animals _home?" Fuji added on, his voice getting dangerous.

"This is Mizuki. You've met him before. And he is not an animal. He is…my…friend. He's here to help out."

"Hontouni? I've met him before? Why do I not remember? Are you playing tricks on your poor Aniki's memory?"

Mizuki remained silent throughout the whole 'brother to brother' conversation, aware of Fuji's death glare on him.

And he was not happy at all about it.

"Why don't you help Tezuka with the decorations? And Mi…what's his name again?"

"Mizuki."

"Oh. Ya…Ni…Ni what? Oh never mind. He and I will help Kojiroh with the sushi and the other food."

"NO! Iie. Mizuki and I will help Kojiroh-san. You go help Tezuka." Yuuta said frantically.

He shuddered at the thought of Fuji-and-food pair. He did not want to imagine what would happen when Fuji-and-food-and-Mizuki were in the same room.

"Well, ok. If my kawaii ototou insist."

"Aniki!!!"

The older Fuji smiled, and walked towardshis precious mistletoe.

"Now. Where did I plan on hanging this?"

--- --- ---

Forbiddenlover (The second author of this combined fic): Yay! I finally did it…it was a little hard at first, but I got into it after awhile. Not that easy to continue a fic…especially if it's not started by yourself. Anyway, I didn't know what to write, so I added a lot of humor in it…hope you liked it…thanks for reading. And please review. And sorry for the occ-ness of the characters.


	3. Party Time

Author's Notes: Well, as Jacq do not have the time to do up the next chapter, it's back to me, Eneko, to entertain you! There are more clear pairings in this chapter. But I shan't say now. You would just have to read to find out. Heh. Enough of my rantings, and back to the fic!

--- --- ---

**When All The Snow Had Melted**

Chapter 3 - Party Time

Oishi paced outside of Fuji's doorstep nervously, holding a small wrapped present.

It was 12 noon.

"Should I go in and help with the decorations? Perhaps I could be useful. But Fuji did specify that I come at 2pm exactly," Oishi thought anxiously with a worried look.

A hand suddenly reached out from behind him and pressed the doorbell.

Oishi froze.

"Hoi hoi, Oishi. What are you doing out here?"

Oishi let out a sigh of relief, before turning to his genki partner.

"Ahh. It's you Eiji," Oishi's expression changed from relieved to surprised, "What are you doing here? I thought the party's starting at 2?"

Eiji grinned happily.

"Fuji called me this morning. He told me that you would probably come earlier and that you would be lonely as they did not need extra help," Eiji suddenly blushed a little, "So he told me to come at 12 to keep you company."

Oishi turned pink.

"Well, well. If it isn't our golden pair. Aww, the both of you are so _sweet_ to look at."

This time, both Eiji and Oishi turned red.

"Nya Fuji," Eiji said with a pout, "Why didn't you say anything when you opened the door?"

Fuji merely chuckled.

"Maa. I _did _clear my throat twice. But obviously, both of you were too busy staring at each other," Fuji noticed their uncomfortable looks, and continued, "Saa. It's fun to tease you two. Anyway, why don't you all come in?"

Eiji held his hand out towards Oishi and winked.

"Oishi nya. Let's go see how Fuji is progressing okay?"

Oishi smiled back.

"Okay."

--- --- ---

A hand fingered an invitation card.

The invitation card to Fuji's New Year party.

The figure on his lap stretched and yawned.

"What are you thinking about?" Jiroh opened an eye.

"Nothing. No...actually, there's something on my mind that I've not decided. Would you like to accompany me to Fuji's party?"

"Fuji! Yes, yes. I want to go see Syusuke! Maybe he can show me his Triple Counter again..." Jiroh looked completely refeshed immediately.

The diva smirked.

"In that case..."

--- --- ---

"Tezuka," Oishi looked shocked, "You did _all_ these by yourself?!"

Tezuka nodded slowly.

The room was beautifully decorated with streamers and balloons.

And in the middle of the room was a Piñata.

And mistletoes.

Wait, _mistletoes_?

"Maa. I see you have noticed my secret weapon. Well, I'm afraid that the both of us are under the mistletoe," Fuji said with a mischievous tone.

"Let's get this over and done with."

Fuji looked up and kissed his best friend's cheek.

Eiji looked dazed.

"Ny-ya F-Fuji," Eiji's hand reached up and touched the spot that Fuji kissed, "Wh-y did yo-u..."

"Don't worry too much about it. Let's see how the cake's turning out okay?"

Fuji grabbed Eiji's hand and pulled him to the direction of the kitchen.

"By the way," Fuji smirked at Oishi's surprised expression, "The _both_ of you are under a mistletoe. I trust you know what to do."

Fuji and Eiji entered the kitchen.

"Er-r...Tezuka...ca-n we n-ot..."

"...I have no intention of _kissing_ anyone."

Suddenly, Fuji's voice floated in.

"I heard that! Are you sure you don't want to kiss _anybody_, ne 'Mitsu?"

Tezuka only sweatdropped.

--- --- ---

Later on at 2...

The bell rang continuously.

When the door was finally opened by Fuji, there was only silence.

"Fuji-sempai..." Momo could not think of anything else to say.

"Mada mada dane, Fuji-sempai." Echizen tilted his cap to hide his face.

"THUMP!" Kawamura had fainted.

"F-Fuji-se-sempai..." Kaidoh was beyond shocked.

"Iie data. Who knew Fuji had such...different...interests..." Inui was satisfied to have new data.

"Why nobody's coming in?" Tezuka wondered as he walked out of the kitchen.

He soon got his answer.

He felt a headache coming.

In front of him was Fuji dressed in a ravishing red dress which revealed his shoulders.

Much as he hated to admit it, Fuji looked really...beautiful.

Unfortunately, Fuji chose that moment to turn around.

"Ne Tezuka. What do you think?"

Fuji spun around slowly, waiting for his buchou's comments.

"..."

Tezuka turned and started back towards the kitchen.

Fuji only hooked his slender arm into Tezuka's.

"Come on in," he invited.

"About Taka-san," Fuji glanced at his unconscious friend, "Hmm. Momo and Echizen. Can I trust you two to bring Taka-san home and come back for the party safely?"

Echizen looked at Momo and smiled a little.

"Hai Fuji-sempai."

"One more thing. _Take your time_," Fuji said slowly, emphasizing the words as if it held an alternate meaning.

Echizen gave a meaningful look at Fuji before turning to help his senior.

"I wonder what's with those two," Tezuka thought, feeling a twinge of jealousy.

--- --- ---

Inui and Kaidoh entered Fuji's house, feeling a little out of place.

The decorations were all in place, and there was nothing else they could do to help.

"Want to play a game of poker?" Fuji asked the two new guests and the Golden Pair.

Spectacles glinted.

"There's a 85 chance that Tezuka and Fuji would not be joining us, which indirectly gurantee us an equal 25 chance of winning in a game."

"Interesting deductions ne, Inui," Fuji said as he handed over a deck of cards.

"Have fun then. Tezuka, follow me to the kitchen."

The rest of them proceeded to play poker.

Tezuka could not think of a reason to reject Fuji, and had no choice but to follow the tensai.

Upon reaching the kitchen, Fuji immediately went over to Saeki and wrapped his arms around the latter's waist.

"Kojiroh dear. Would you do me a favor?"

"Anything for you, Syusuke. You know that I never reject you."

Fuji then whispered a few words in his best friend's ear.

"Aniki's always like that when he's around Saeki-san. It's _embaressing_. Don't take any notice of them Mizuki," Yuuta said as he rolled the sushi.

Mizuki twirled his black hair.

"Really. I don't quite care what Fuji do. I'm more concerned about Yuuta," he smirked at Yuuta's flushed face, "Say, are you free later on? Want to have din..."

"Oh no," Fuji's face suddenly appeared, cutting in on their conversation, "Gomen ne, Nizika. Yuuta's going out with Kojiroh. Right dearie?"

"Hai Syusuke."

At Yuuta's disappointed expression, Saeki added with a sniff, "Yuuta. I didn't know you _hate _to go out with me. I am so sad that I think I'm going to start crying, right here at this very moment."

"Oh my god. Is he really going to cry?" Tezuka thought warily.

Yuuta walked over to Saeki, his face looking a mixture of shock and bewilderment.

"Nani? Don't cry Saeki-san, please don't cry. Gomen Gomen. I'll go out with you okay?"

Yuuta had a pleading look on his face.

Saeki's face broke into a huge grin.

"I knew you would agree!" Saeki said cheerfully, pushing a confused-looking Mizuki out of the door, "Sayonara Mizuki-san. Nice meeting you."

With that, he shoved Mizuki out of the house and slammed the door.

"Yuuta! Go get changed quickly. You are _not _going to go out with your clothes looking like that. We are going to have ramen for dinner later," Saeki ended with the huge grin still in place.

Yuuta sighed but knew he could not do anything.

"Best to get out of this madhouse _quickly_," he thought, running up to his room.

In a few minutes, he ran out of his room, looking considerably much cleaner.

"Let's go Saeki-san," Yuuta said hurriedly, pulling a stunned Saeki, "Bye bye aniki, Tezuka-san. Have fun."

The door slammed for the third time.

"Maa. I wonder how long this door will last, if it keeps getting slammed."

"..."

The door opened again, revealing a panting Yuuta.

"Please don't eat aniki, Tezuka. We _need_ him to continue our family line."

The door slammed again.

"Oh well. Guess nothing can be done about it. Right, 'Mitsu?"

"..."

"Let's make something _special _for our guests."

--- --- ---

Eneko: Well...hope I was able to write smoothly from the previous chapter. Thanks to everyone who had reviewed and gave comments. Anyway, it's back to Forbiddenlove's turn. Heh. Do continue reading!


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